Mundim: Lack of management and accountability in loss-making state-owned companies

Brazilian state-owned companies will accumulate a deficit of R$7.4 billion in 2026, surpassing the negative result of the previous year.

According to data from the Central Bank, the loss was mainly influenced by the negative result recorded in January.

CNN Brasil economics analyst Rita Mundim points out that the central problem of loss-making public companies is poor management, aggravated by the lack of obligation to be accountable to society.

In analyzing the country's fiscal scenario, the analyst contextualized the data from state-owned companies within a broader picture of deterioration in public accounts.

Rita Mundim highlighted the importance of differentiating state-owned companies according to their level of governance.

According to her, the Central Bank acts correctly by excluding companies that report to the financial market from the calculation of the deficit, such as Petrobras, which is publicly traded and has shareholders spread across the world.

"We have to separate the wheat from the chaff, because Petrobras at least has governance and is held accountable by its shareholders," he said.

State-owned companies that are not financed by the market, such as Correios, are included in the deficit and, according to her, suffer from management equivalent to that of the government itself.

One of the most significant data presented by Rita Mundim concerns the volume of dividends paid by state-owned companies. According to the National Treasury report, public companies paid R$22 billion in dividends between January and May 2025.

In the same period of 2026, this value fell to R$8 billion - a reduction of approximately 64%. In the month of May alone, the drop was even more pronounced: from R$9 billion in 2025 to R$2 billion in 2026, representing a 75% retraction.

"That's absurd," he said.

Rita Mundim warned that the worsening management of state-owned companies and public accounts in general compromises Brazil's credibility in the financial market.

"The worsening of management is widespread, from state-owned companies to the most consolidated accounts", he stated.

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Source: CNN